GAMING WITH AN 8 MONTH OLD

Status
Not open for further replies.

XGC xVIPERx XI

Administrator
Staff member
KoG LOOKOUT NOW
My elementalist-monk waits patiently while watching the invading parties battle it out for a chance to take the Hall of Heroes alter from my team. At the same time, a baby named Sebastian starts to cry since his mom is being far too slow at shoveling food in his mouth.

"Guys, I need to go AFK. Baby!" the mother says over Ventrilo, a voice over IP program.

Yes, that mom is me and I'm trying to feed my kid lunch while killing other players and farming for sigils (a kind of loot) in the RPG game, Guild Wars. Sometimes it amazes me that we are able to get to the Hall of Heroes at all under such conditions, much less hold it. Sebastian doesn't seem to mind. He rather likes hanging out on my lap while banging on the space bar. He's even managed to get me killed on a couple of occasions from attacking mobs that I was trying to avoid. And he especially likes talking in IRC and AOL instant messenger, although his grammar needs some work.

Sebastian is now a little over 8 months old. Compared to some of the stories I've heard about other kids, I can say without a doubt that he is typically a very easy baby. He can sit happily for a good stretch of time amusing himself by playing with his toys and giggling at the puppies. However, when he wants you he lets you know. And unless you're partial to the sound of screeches you better be ready to drop what you're doing and pay attention to him. Patience is not in his vocabulary and he doesn't understand what "just give me 30 seconds!" means. In fact, there are times I've had to fight 5-way battles with him on my lap because of his impatient protests.

A mom's life is a major balancing act. When I was in college I held 3 jobs and went to school. Life seemed tough then, but it pales in comparison to motherhood. I may have been ridiculously busy back then but at least I was getting sleep! After 3 months of living off of catnaps I could feel my patience slipping away fast. Compound that with the fact that in the US you only get 3 months of maternity leave before having to go back to your 40 hour a week job and it's enough to make you cry. I was miserable. I was stuck in limbo, feeling like I was only half of a mom and half of an employee, unable to focus enough on either role the way I would have liked. During that time, I barely found the time to sleep, much less play.

When Sebastian finally got his first 4-hour stretch of sleep (about 4 months later), I felt like I could conquer the world. My sense of self was starting to return. Now he can sleep for 10-hour stretches, giving me a few hours of precious time for myself at night. How do I spend that time? Battling it out with other gamers of course! That is, when I'm not playing with my dogs, updating WG, going grocery shopping or planning how I'm going to tackle that Master's degree in computer science.

I know what you're thinking. How do I find the time to play if I have all these other things on my plate? It's simple. Gaming is not just a frivilous activity to me. It's a priority. When I get my game time I can deal with explosive diapers, inconsolable crying from teething, lack of sleep, and all the other hurdles that try a parent's patience. Although this game time comes with a few conditions. My choice in games, play modes and even character selection has been affected by motherhood. For example, I chose to roll a druid in World of Warcraft so that I could easily stealth and go AFK for an extended amount of time when needed. I'm also gravitating more and more towards games like Guild Wars where you can play using the mouse alone, allowing for your other hand to be free when needed.

Which brings me back to sitting here slaughter the invaders with my trusty mouse why shoveling applesauce into the mouth of a giggling baby. If only the would-be usurpers knew the kind of multitasking I do on the other side of the screen.

Posted by XGC KN1GHT XI
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top